Guile Revealed as Street Fighter V’s Second DLC character

Early on in the Street Fighter V hype train, many people asserted that the World Warrior eight (the original cast of Street Fighter II)had to be present; I mean, it is Street Fighter after all. As time passed, it was revealed that only eight spots in the core roster would go to series mainstays, and one of those spots had been filled early on by M. Bison, already ruling out the possibility all eight returning.More choices were revealed with SFII expansion characters taking up classic spots until there was only one left on the roster, leaving Dhalsim, E. Honda, Blanka, and Guile unaccounted for. Though what we ended up getting was Dhalsim, around the same time the PC beta for SFV had been data-mined to reveal the names of the 22-character post-launch roster, and among them, Guile’s name stood as proudly as his flat top.

Now, Guile is back to bring us the eternal frustration of recovery-free projectiles and anti-airs spanning massive swathes of airspace. Let’s take a look at what Guile has in store for us this time around with his V-system.

V-Skill: Sonic Blade

Guile spins up sonic energy to create a Sonic Blade which acts as a stationary projectile that can also juice up his Sonic Booms. Sonic Blade can really help Guile pressure opponents on their wake-up or help him win projectile battles as it increases Sonic Boom durability!

People have been hoping for a defensive character in Guile and it sure looks like they got it. Sonic blade acts as a stationary projectile, essentially making it a barrier between him and the opponent that can amplify a sonic boom that breaks through it, increasing its durability. It’s a bit early to judge the power of this move as we don’t know what about it builds V-meter (activation? Breaking it for a sonic boom? Having it directly damage the opponent?), nor do we know how long a sonic blade will last after being created and if it will automatically go away if Guile is hit. However, on pure concept, sonic blade looks to be a strong tool all around.

V-Trigger: Solid Puncher

Guile powers up and tosses out continuous Sonic Booms! Each button throws a Sonic Boom at a different speed, so mixing up between buttons can create interesting Sonic Boom sequences.

Depending on the sequence used, this can act as a great combo extender, be used to overwhelm opponents, or easily push opponents to the corner.

Now we’re talking! It’s hard to tell how exactly this one will work; it’s possible that it’s like Cammy’s V-trigger where the move is simply made better for the duration, or Alex’s V-trigger where he gains access to the new ability by pressing V-trigger activation again. Either way, multiple booms in such short succession is a tool to be feared.

Critical Art: Sonic Hurricane

Guile’s most devastating attack, the Sonic Hurricane! Guile powers up and hits his opponent with a massive, multi-hit Sonic Boom. This Critical Art receives a damage and range boost while his V-Trigger is active.

I don’t really have anything to say here; I’m just glad the bow-tie charge motion is gone.

Faultless Move

An inherent trait of Guile’s; while crouching, he can slowly move forward, allowing him to move whilst charging a flash kick.

Guile, much like Alex, will be free to everyone until the issues with launching the Zenny (real-life currency) shop have been resolved.

Of course, Guile isn’t the only content coming with this upcoming update. The first DLC stage, the proposed solution to rage quitters, and improvements to matchmaking are planned as well.

Air Force Base Stage

We’re also excited to announce our first DLC stage, which is a classic that you all know and love: Guile’s Air Force Base!

The F-16 receives a new coat of paint and you’ll probably recognize some familiar faces cheering you on in the background. This stage will be available in the Shop for 70,000 FM. Season Pass holders will receive this stage for free as a thank you for supporting Street Fighter V.

Rage Quit System

We’re also happy to announce that we will be implementing a system to punish players who frequently disconnect during matches (aka rage quitters).

The way this will work is the system will identify players who have high disconnect rates during matches and will lock them out of matchmaking for a period of time. Players who have been identified as abusing the system will receive an in-game message notifying them they have been locked out of matchmaking.

More additions and enhancements to this system will be implemented in the future.

Matchmaking Improvements

We will also be making a number of improvements to Street Fighter V’s matchmaking. Many users should have an easier time creating and connecting to Battle Lounges and we are also loosening the restrictions on finding an opponent. We know users in Europe and other parts of the world have experienced some issues finding opponents and this should help increase the amount of battles coming their way.

That’s it for today! We’ll have details on the release date of the April update very soon.

Seems as though this patch will bring with it some features that people have been hurting for, but how soon it will come nobody can say. Just pin it as April 31st and be pleasantly surprised.

Here’s a picture of a flash kick. Don’t question what it’s doing here, just enjoy it.

About The Author

Adriel has been an avid lover of games and anime for near all his life. Hailing from Chicago where he is currently pursuing a degree in game design, he greatly prides himself on using both his gained knowledge from his schooling as well as his life-long experience as a gamer to analyze and express his love for games. As far as Anime goes, he likes all sorts, but loves dramatic action; his favorites being Fist of The North Star and JoJo's Bizarre adventure.
Fun Fact: Adriel's favorite genres of games are Fighting games and Shooters, but his love for his reckless playstyle keep him from achieving greatness.